The Official Nintendo Player's Guide (1987, Nintendo)

Remember this?? It had the first complete map of Metroid (hand-drawn!), and a good in-depth coverage of the creatures, weapons, and gameplay. 8 full-color pages. Still probably one of the best pieces of coverage on the original game. Book also came with a sheet of Nintendo character stickers, two of which were of Samus.

Nintendo Power, Volume 29, October 1991. Pages 38-45.

A complete guide to the whole game of the original Metroid, with screenshot maps and lots of hints. An EXCELLENT resource! Has a small inset about the Secret World as well.

Nintendo Power, Volume 44, January 1993 (Subscriber Edition Only).

Don't look for Metroid tips and maps in this issue -- but it does contain the Mario Paint Special insert booklet. Booklet has tips and how-to stuff on using Mario Paint, with 6 pages dedicated to replicating sprites and blocks from 3 games: Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, and Metroid. It says that the original development team from Metroid came up with the way to make the Metroid sprites in Mario Paint. It shows how to create the sprites of Samus running, 6 blocks plus a bubble door, and a pulsating Metroid, and they all look just like the original.

Nintendo Fun Club News (1987-1988), Nintendo)

Back before the days of the internet, the only way someone could get news for their favorite games was to join the Nintendo Fun Club News. The magazine lasted only a couple years, but later transformed into what we know now as Nintendo Power. These are all the Metroid-related scans from those rare issues. Images from Underground Gamer via Retro Mags.

How to Win at Nintendo Games (Jeff Rovin, 1989)

Remember these books? Jeff Rovin's series of guides for beating Nintendo games were the staple back in the late '80s and early '90s if you didn't have access to Nintendo Power guides. They were cheap and many libraries carried them. It's fairly useful, but we have access to better ones today.

Consumer Strategy Guide (1987-1988)

I stumbled upon a copy of this magazine in a used bookstore. You'll often be surprised what you can find in those. It's a pretty barebones guide, but interesting nonetheless. Scans from Underground Gamer.

Player One (Volume 24, French)

French Magazine, Player One, takes a look back at the original Metroid shortly after Super's release. For all the Francophile Metroid fans! Scans from Abandonware Magazines.

Game Player's Nintendo Buyer's Guide (Winter 1988)

This 1988 guide, published quarterly by North Carolina company Signal Research, Inc., featured reviews, strategies and previews on a large variety of NES titles -- 135 in all. Pages 60-61 features none other than Metroid. Not only is there a very badly drawn version of Samus on the front cover, they mistakenly credit Taito for creating the game. Scans from Retro Mags.

Club Nintendo Magazine (Europe/Dutch, 1990)

A few pages from a European (Netherlands?) edition of Club Nintendo Magazine were graciously donated by long-time (18 yrs!) MDb reader, Mad Mega. He also translated the 2-page comic advertisement for Nintendo products, which has a brief Metroid cameo at the end. Thanks Mark!